To cover oneself is like eating: you can’t do without it. But what hides behind the cultivation of cotton, the most used fibre in the clothing business? Although the production of materials and clothing of organic origin is growing in the world market, nowadays half of the international production originates from genetically modified cotton: one out of two t-shirts , produced in the last 15 years. What are the consequences of this scenario?

On Thursday, 16th February at 4 p.m. sharp,

in the “Neu Delhi” room, on level 3

NCC Ost – NuernbergMesse – Messezentrum

on the occasion of the 2012 Biofach edition – the biggest certified organic Fair in the world, this year dedicated to India, the worldwide preview of the documentary

“BEHIND THE LABEL – the double face of Indian cotton”

At the press release will be present:

Barbara Ceschi a Santa Croce, the producer of the documentary; Sebastiano Tecchio, the director, Mani Chinnaswamyorganic cotton buyer;Mr. Herman Lanting Agronomist - Sustainable Agriculture, The Netherlands and as special guest

Vandana Shiva

scientist and worldwide leader of the environmentalist movement,

Navdanya International

The documentary is an independent Italian production, which sets out in a detailed investigation, carried out on the field, the little known and devastating effects of the massive introduction of genetically modified cotton in India, the second largest producer of cotton in the world. GMO cotton arrived in this part of the world in 2002, and now occupies 90% of cultivated areas thanks to the massive action of the Monsanto multinational company. Its spread is producing devastating social and environmental effects. The living conditions of millions of farmers have worsened drastically, registering from 1995 to 2010 256,000 suicides, and hitting the already unstable environmental equilibrium, which is the basis for the survival of millions of people.

But there is an alternative: the production of cotton using organic methods, of which India is the world leader.

The documentary wants to reveal the truth and to show how a different choice by the consumer can make a difference in safeguarding the living conditions of the Indian agricultural labourers but also in preserving the environment, humanity’s common home.